McAvoy says Bruins don't plan to name captain for this season
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Boston Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy revealed Tuesday that the team is not planning to name a captain for the upcoming season.
The Bruins have been without a captain since trading Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers ahead of the trade deadline, but McAvoy said he and veteran winger David Pastrnak are being tasked with sharing leadership duties this year.
“Going into this year, we’re both going to have A’s. That’s what I know. I don’t think there’s any fire under them to do anything with that. And guess what? That’s totally fine,” McAvoy told Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. “Me and Pasta are spending the time together, which I’ve found incredible, learning about him a little bit more, about him as a leader. Just what I’ll say on that front is I love that we’re going to be able to take this on together. And regardless of letters, we know that this is our team, me and him. And for however many years we get to be here, it’s going to be us two, along with a lot of other guys, right? But this is our baby now, me and him, and there’s nobody else that I’d rather do it with and I know we’re going to make each other better, on and off the ice.”
“We’ve talked a lot about the group, ideas of how we can make this group come together as quickly as possible," he added. "That’s been the biggest thing right now from a leadership perspective, some of the tendencies he has as far as meetings and messaging and stuff like that. That’s been the biggest thing. We’re really focusing on how we can make this team a cohesive group right from the get-go. There’s been a lot of turnover over the last two years. It’s kind of shocking to see that it’s just me and Pasta left from (the 2019 Stanley Cup Final team). And with all that turnover, you have to work on it. It doesn’t just (automatically) work. So we’ve got to pour some water on that seed and we’ve got to get this group together. We’ve got to learn each other and spend the necessary time it takes to make this a very tight group.”
McAvoy missed the second half of last season after picking up an infection in shoulder during the 4 Nations Face-Off. With their top defenceman sidelined, the Bruins turned into a trade deadline seller, trading away Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle and Justin Brazeau as the team retooled on the fly.
The Bruins sunk to the bottom of the Eastern Conference after the deadline, finishing tied for last with the Philadelphia Flyers with 76 points as their eight-year playoff streak came to an end.
Boston focused largely on their bottom-six in the off-season, adding forwards Viktor Arvidsson, Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Mikey Eyssimont. The team also hired Marco Sturm as their new head coach after Jim Montgomery and Joe Sacco both spent time behind the bench last year.
McAvoy, who said at the end of the season he could have returned to play if the Bruins made the playoffs, is expected to be fully healthy for next season.